MONDAY
E-mail a friendMarc Forster
airdate January 27, 2005
Marc Forster saw his first film at age 12 and went on to become an acclaimed Hollywood director. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for Finding Neverland, and his work on Monster's Ball received two Oscar nods. Forster grew up in Switzerland and, after seeing the film, Apocalypse Now, decided to make movies for a living. He studied film at NYU and made a name for himself with his first film, Loungers. Forster's latest release is The Kite Runner. He's also signed onto the next James Bond film, Bond 22.
Marc Forster
Tavis: Marc Forster is a gifted director whose resume includes the terrific film 'Monster's Ball.' Of course, Halle Berry won an Oscar for her brilliant performance in 'Monster's Ball.' His latest project was just nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including one for best picture. The film is 'Finding Neverland,' starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Here now a scene from 'Finding Neverland.'
Sylvia: Lights. Last one in bed's a hairy toad.
James: Nonsense. Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older. And then before you know it, they're grown.
Tavis: Marc, nice to see you.
Marc Forster: Nice to meet you.
Tavis: Congratulations.
Marc: Thank you for having me.
Tavis: Congratulations. I should tell all my friends watching right now, as so many people are going to see these movies, as you know, before the awards program, we try to see them here and there, and there's always a list of movies, I suspect, that you haven't seen, like I have not seen, that you want to get in just before the awards program. Please, when you go see this, take a box of Kleenex with you. Just take a box of Kleenex with you when you go. Is that fair to say?
Marc: Yeah, it's fair to say.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha!
Marc: People had that experience, they keep telling me.
Tavis: Not people--everybody in the theater had that experience. Not just people, everybody in there. I said congratulations, but--and I can walk around this, but let me respectfully go at it right at the top of our conversation: 7 Academy Award nominations. Johnny Depp, indeed, for best actor, the movie for best picture, and you are the only director this year, of the 5 films nominated for best picture, you're the only director who did not get nominated for best director. You got the DGA nomination, but not the Academy Award. And this is not an exact science, obviously, but, honestly, just between me and you, how are you feeling about the fact that your picture got nominated, but that you didn't as director?
Marc: You know, it feels like the picture sort of directed itself.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha! There you go! Ha ha ha! That's a good one. There you go.
Marc: You know, and, uh, I think it makes it easier on me. The pressure's off, you know, the picture directs itself, so I don't have to take it that seriously.
Tavis: OK, but on a serious note, isn't that a little awkward, though, that a picture can be directed for best picture, but not the director who made it happen? Is that weird?
Marc: It's a little strange, but you know, I'm really just--I feel very blessed and happy that the picture is nominated, Johnny's nominated, that all the people I worked with, from costume to editor, music, the screenwriter, that all of them are nominated. And I'm just like, as a whole, I feel, like, very lucky, and it's my third film. There's nothing to complain about, and I have plenty of opportunities, in the future hopefully, to do more films and hopefully do good work.
Tavis: You're not doing bad for 3 films. Got at least 2 of the 3 being nominated for Academy Awards. Uh, that's not bad, you're doing awfully good.
Marc: I feel very thankful.
Tavis: And you are a--this is a long way. I mean, you know, you're 3 films into this. 2 of the 3 have been nominated for Academy Awards. This is a long way from film school at NYU, and I want to take you back to your film school days at NYU, because I am so empowered by the story of how you actually got to film school. You grew up in Switzerland...
Marc: That's correct, yeah.
Tavis: And didn't have the money to get to the states, to go to film school at NYU. Tell the story of how you actually got into NYU.
Marc: It's basically one day I read in a paper that NYU's a good film school, and I was in Switzerland, I didn't know anything about it, so I applied. It was the only film school I applied to, and I got in. So I had to figure out--at that point, my parents lost all their money, they didn't have any--so I started writing letters to rich people in Switzerland, and there are plenty of them, believe me. So I wrote all these letters to them, and then the first person I called said, "Look," he said to me, "I love film, and I want to give you that opportunity. I pay for the first year. And if you have any talent, I will pay for the second year." So he kept on basically paying for all 3 years at NYU, and thanks to him, I was able to actually go.
Tavis: Did you send this guy a thank-you note?
Marc: Yeah. I always thank him. I thank him. I thank him because without him, I wouldn't be here.
Tavis: So--so, if you were on the stage on that big night, the first person you would thank would be...
Marc: I would thank him, yes.
Tavis: That would be nice of you, Marc. Ha ha ha ha!
Marc: It's sort of a must.
Tavis: Yeah. Where did you get the idea? I mean, I just love people who find creative ways to do what they are blessed and talented and passionate about doing. Where did the idea come--come from for you just to sit down and start writing letters to a bunch of rich folk in Switzerland who I suspect you didn't know, but--where'd the idea come from?
Marc: It just, like, you know, I was so passionate about film, and I just felt like instinctively that's my path, I need to tell stories. And so I had no choice. And I would think to myself--and all these people I wrote letters to I sort of knew a little bit, but very superficially, because I grew up in a ski town where a lot of rich people skied, so I knew them through skiing. But anyway, when I felt like, you know, this guy might go for it because he was at that time, like, 50 years old, he just went through a divorce, no kids. So I thought he might respond to, like, an artistic insane person.
Tavis: It worked?
Marc: Yes.
Tavis: Um, for those who've not seen 'Finding Neverland,' your take as a director of it on what the film is about.
Marc: Um, the film is truly about the manifestation of imagination, but it's also about basically that if you believe in your dreams and your fantasy, that you can manifest them, that you get inspired. It's about the creative process, and ultimately, you know, obviously the story is about the creation of 'Peter Pan,' how J.M. Barrie, who is played by Johnny Depp, gets inspired to write 'Peter Pan.'
Tavis: I was fascinated, because a lot of critics--my reading of this is a lot of critics have gotten under your skin, kind of angered you with the writing about J.M. Barrie and whether or not he engaged in pedophilia. You have been quick to say that you think the media has been overly fascinated with that and you don't buy that at all. The guy was essentially, as you see it, asexual, and yet smack dab in the middle of the movie, you raised this issue when you didn't have to do it. Why did you raise it to begin with?
Marc: I raised the issue because I knew that--I wanted to make sure that people are aware that I'm aware of it. And even in my research--and I found out, as you said, that he wasn't a pedophile--but I thought it was important to state the issue and not completely hide it because I thought that would be wrong, and I thought it was important to address it and deal with the fact.
Tavis: I'm still cracking up watching you in this conversation because it occurs to me again--I think I got this right--you didn't even see television until you were, what, 12?
Marc: Yeah, that's correct.
Tavis: Here you are being nominated for Academy Awards and you didn't even see a movie until you were 12. What's the first thing you saw?
Marc: The first thing I saw in a theater was 'Apocalypse Now.'
Tavis: 'Apocalypse Now.'
Marc: 'Apocalypse Now.' Yes. I did see some little films and stuff in friends' houses and stuff. But this was the first film I saw in a movie theater. And actually 'Monster's Ball,' the European premiere in Berlin--my mother hasn't been in a movie theater for 20 years, so I had to, like, bring her in and convince her to come.
Tavis: Speaking of 'Monster's Ball,' how does one who grew up in Switzerland who ostensibly doesn't have any understanding of the race dynamic that makes America such a...unique place, how did you get your brain wrapped around that to do a film that eventually won the Academy Award for Halle--around issues of race?
Marc: It's interesting you bring it up, because I think one of the reasons why Halle--and also Billy Bob is from the South--and all the actors trusted me is because I didn't have my own agenda. All I tried to do is be very objective and tell the story from an objective point of view and sort of be in the South and just observe. And all I tried to do with the film is be sort of--have a sort of objective observational point of view, but not be judgmental.
Tavis: What did you make of the fact that Halle, in fact, became the first black woman to win best actress?
Marc: I mean, it made history. It's amazing, and you know, she's so--I love her, and she's so close to me, and I said to her the other day we changed each other's lives. She changed mine, I changed hers, and that's just something really special we gave to each other.
Tavis: And talk to me about Johnny Depp and what you make of his nomination in this film.
Marc: I think Johnny, you know, can't do any wrong. He's one of the greatest brilliant actors of his generation. I'm just really thankful he said yes to the part because I couldn't envision anybody else in it. And, you know, I'm just so happy for him, it's amazing.
Tavis: So are you excited about the big night?
Marc: Yeah, I'm really happy. I'm looking forward--and, you know, maybe here or there there's an opportunity. But I'm just really happy that we got all these nominations.
Tavis: Well, I suspect--you're just 3 into this--you got a lot of years in front of you, obviously a lot of talent, a lot of creativity, and I suspect that, uh--hey, it took Martin Scorsese a long time.
Marc: Ha ha! Exactly. Who am I to complain?
Tavis: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha! A lot of people pulling for Marty Scorsese this year, but it took him a while to get to this place, so you'll be OK. Congratulations.
Marc: Thank you.
Tavis: Nice to have you on the program. That's our show for tonight. I'll see you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from Los Angeles and keep the faith.
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